On our first trip to the UK (England and Ireland) twenty years ago, we returned via Healthrow Airport in London. The duty-free shop was like a city unto itself!
I remember a shop called, "Whiskies of the World", but rather than scrutinizing all that was stocked, I was specifically looking for a few bottles of Midleton Rare Irish for myself and close friends for the cost-savings from retail.
We are now planning a return trip to Ireland next Fall and will be flying home (by way of Toronto, Canada) from Shannon Airport.
All my efforts to learn the Irish whiskies they offer were for naught.
Has anyone departed home from Shannon recently who can give me an idea of the specific better-quality Irish whiskies I can expect to find there? I am only interested in brands and ages; my intent is to bring back Irish whiskies not available in Michigan.
Thanks in advance for any information offered!
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2597 posts
You could email the duty-free at the airport and see what they say
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
Changing planes may/will mean that although you can carry on liquid items in sealed duty-free bags on your first flight, they will have to be in checked baggage for the connection to your home airport.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
I was unsuccessful in obtaining any information from the Shannon Airport when I attempted to contact their Duty-Free Department.
But I will press-on regardless as I have time to gather the information.
We will be flying from Ireland to Canada, but will be driving our personal automobile from the Toronto, CA., airport for the ~short drive back to the northern metro Detroit (Michigan) suburbs, so the bottles will be both safe and in our possession for the remainder of the trip home.
For those who have been following my planning and comments about shipping bottles of whiskey duty-free by Irish Mail to my home address, I recently read a few Internet articles which both clarified what I can and can't do regarding alcoholic beverages shipped home, as well as Irish whiskey pricing in the US compared to Ireland.
Alcoholic beverages cannot be mailed from Ireland, but must be shipped by a registered shipper. (OOPS!)
And the article I am referencing was written by a whiskey blogger identified as "Whisk(e) Apostle: Proselytizing the way of the malt."
In his blog entry of 6/22/2012 entitled, "Whiskey Shopping in Ireland (2012)", Richard made some very interesting and enlightening comments.
In discussing whiskey shopping, he simply stated, "Don't buy Irish Whiskey in Ireland."
He provided an example using a 750ml bottle of Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey and the respective pricing in Ireland (Dublin, Galway, Killarney) and in the US with either VAT or stateside taxes.
A 750ml bottle of Jameson Blended in the US is a bit more than $20, while the same bottle in Ireland is 24.50 Euros or 30.64 with VAT included (2012 pricing).
Ditto for a 750 ml bottle of Bushmills 21-year old.
He advises purchasing from two separate and distinct sources: (1) buy from the Duty-Free Shop at your airport of departure, understanding your purchasing "duty-free" limit is one liter per traveler. You may, however, purchase a larger quantity of bottles, but you will only be paying duty, which is much less than VAT fees, on those extra bottles. And if you are travelling with family members who are too young to legally purchase spirits, each of those family members also have a one liter allowance for duty-free purchases. Either way, the duty on the extra purchases will be less than the corresponding VAT fees.
(2) Consider what is identified as "Ireland Only" bottles of Irish whiskey for your purchases 'in-country.
What are "Ireland Only" bottles? These are the bottles sold only at the distilleries identified as "distillery reserve". For obvious reasons, they cannot be found or sold elsewhere.
And don't forget the cost-savings on duty-free spirits at the airports. On my last purchasing experience at the Heathrow-1 Duty-Free shop some twenty years ago, I paid less than half the Michigan retail price for each duty-free bottle of Midleton Reserve I purchased there!
Just sayin'............
Hank
Posted by
1585 posts
We started our new year’s celebrations a little early with my husband pulling out a bottle of Midleton Very Rare. I remembered this thread and despite my very slight inebriation was able to find it. :-P
At any rate, the husband thinks he bought it last year (2018) at the Dublin airport duty free shop. Since it was a business trip he wasn’t at the distillery or anywhere else which might have sold it. He also cannot recall if its presence at the airport was a one-off special tasting or something more regular. Either way, it might be worth contacting Midleton directly to find out.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thank you all for your valid comments.
To KCLyons: I once learned from our Scottish tourguide at the Bushmills Distillery the reasons Irish has an 'e' in whiskey to be:
(1) It is exquisite, (2) it is expensive, and (3), it is exceptional! As far as Midleton Whiskey, you would have to travel far to find a finer Irish whiskey! When we flew home from our first visit to Ireland, I bought two bottles of Midleton at a lower total cost than the regular Michigan price! Amazing deal!
To LauraB: on our return home from our planned trip to Ireland in 2020, we will be flying from Shannon to Pearson Intl Airport in Toronto, Canada, where we will de-plane and pick up our automobile for the short drive back to Detroit, Michigan, where we reside.
Customs and Duty will NOT be an issue!
To the writer who provided the e-mail address for the Shannon Airport Duty-Free Shop, THANK YOU! The address I had been given was not correct.
At this time, we are planning to shop at the Bushmills Distillery Gift Shop and the Midleton Gift Shop for distillery reserve whiskies, as well as the Duty-Free Shop at Shannon Airport on our departure back to our home in the US as the Duty Free whiskey prices are amazingly-low from all acccounts AND my previous experience in Heathrow-1 Duty Free in London.
hank